Red rocks and snow

A couple of quick links to provide you on this blustery, depressingly cloudy day:

Sedona’s Secret

One of the most memorable day hikes I’ve ever discovered was the one pictured above to Secret Canyon, hidden amongst the red rock mountains of Sedona, Ariz. Fascinating place. Every turn a new view. My camera and eyes couldn’t get enough of the scenery. And my wife and I saw absolutely no one else on the trail. It was Arizona hiking heaven.

Secluded forest trails wind among towering, multihued cliffs, providing an exhilarating sense of isolation that’s tough to find on the more heavily traveled routes along Oak Creek Canyon and in the Bell Rock area.

Although most of the hikes into these backcountry areas – Fay Canyon, Boynton Canyon, Long Canyon and HS Canyon, to name a few – are out-and-backs, you can make a terrific loop hike by combining portions of the Secret Canyon, David Miller, Bear Sign and Dry Creek trails.

Compass Points recommends checking it out, the article and the hike.

And in a completely different part of the world, the intrepid Eric Larsen has set out on a mind-blowing journey that destroys the conventional concept of modern-day exploration and rewrites a new meaning:

Slated to begin in November 2009, Eric and his team members will travel to the North Pole, South Pole and the summit of Everest all in one year. The ‘Save the Poles’ expedition will journey to these last frozen places in attempt to tell their amazing story while promoting clean energy solutions to the problem of Climate Change.

I mean, that’s just … damn, Larsen’s plan is astoundingly ambitious. You can follow his journey here.